Due to the personal nature of the financial crisis we endured, we appreciate your understanding for our need to protect our family name and privacy.​ We invite you to get in touch ​however, if you wish to become further acquainted ​before taking your next step.

N o w w e ' l l s t o p r i g h t h e r e f o r j u s t a m i n u t e

. . . And give you a chance​to skip ​all of our c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ ̶s̶e̶c̶r̶e̶t̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶r̶i̶e̶s̶boring life story ​details below...

Because maybe what you need mostRIGHT NOWis the relief ofgetting somereliable information...

And maybe the onlyhope there is of loosening that ​number noose you feel​tightening​ around your neckis knowing the informationyou need is coming from​real people who worked throughthe same problem you're facing.

...People who have gone through the same ​very real adversity you are.

​And when you've finally reacheda point of clarity,you'll feel thankful (likely even proud...)​. . . that you took the time you neededto learn to propel yourself forward.​​To weigh out your debt options nowmeans making a decision sooner ​to conquer your financial challenges​once and for all.

​We present to you our own devastating journey as a case study --...a resource you can use today, to move toward your wealth-building future.

​As we moved further through this dark​'Passageway of Destitution'we found ourselves contemplating many things.

With no one to go to for guidance,a lot of our time was spentfighting the helplessness, confusion, and intimidation​ infesting our every thought.

When at the point of reflecting on the experience as a whole,​and what the 'worst part' of it was,something we were surprised to realize wasthat it wasn't so much ​the act of ​'going bankrupt' itself --

It actually came down to the things we dealt with before filing...

...The agony of being locked, ​​month after month,in a limbo of having absolutely​no idea of what we were going to do...

...The feeling ofpowerlessness and vulnerabilityin trying to find the right personto help us...

We clung to this faithless state of mind because that was all there was to do.And a major contributing factor in doing so ​​was encountering something early on that we just couldn't get our heads around...

And that was to find out,​to our disappointment,that there were actually feesinvolved with ​filing for bankruptcy.

WTF? That made no sense!​To have to 'shell out' to officially 'go broke' ??

That's exactly the reason we were so determined from the start of our journey to find a ​support systemother than an entity that could potentially gain monetarily from our decision.

From that point on, our radar ​was up, doing the best we could to locate a supportive, unbiased opinion on whetherbankruptcy really ​was the best thing ​for us to do. ​

But the same questionkept repeating itself, over and over:​Is there really a resource out there that​not only provides the support & advice we need,​but that also has our ​best interest at heart? ​

We were so desperate to know ​what bankruptcy would be like.​

It was critical to find out what kind of life we could expect ​after signing ​the bankruptcy papers.

We kept wishing and hopingthere was some way to learn ​how bankruptcy really worked,without first having to​spill all our financial mistakes to a trustee.

​If an alternate type of support had existed,we could have been so much more prepared for the unfamiliar and desolate world ​​we were about to enter alone. ​

Instead we kept finding the samegeneralized information online,​website after website.

When it came to learning specifics about what was involved with bankruptcy,we began wondering if any other people out there noticed the same lack of personalized information.

​And if they had,would a decision to share our story be a helpful resourcefor people ​going through the same thing?

At first the thought of letting people 'in' ​to our situation was more than scary.​But, little by little, it made sense.

We kept having thoughts thatsharing what happened to uswould not onlyhelp people ​make their own ​decision faster,it would ease the horrible ​loneliness and fear​we knew other peoplewere likely plagued with -- two tough emotions we wereunfortunately all ​too familiar with.

Sometimes learning about someone else's personal experience ​may be all that's needed to add perspective to our own situation.When going through a highly troubling critical situation, it's common to become so consumed that we become incapable of recognizing realistic solutions.

With money problems causingone of the most severe forms of depression on the planet(and having had experienced that type of 'bleakness' in our own lives),we began trusting more and more in the power of our story --

... that there was at least a chance other people's livescould be positively impactedif we shared our real life experience about bankruptcy.

​As we started contemplating more seriously actually sitting down ​​and creating bankruptcy reference material,​it wasn't long before the 'BBQ Files' project was born.

BBQs? ​Files? ​I don't get it!

If you stick around​you'll begin to see why we decided to use'​BBQ' as our secret code word for 'Bankruptcy'.​You see, once we started becoming immersed in the reality of what was really happening,we realized we needed a way to save our sanity...

Simply put, to find a way to save ourselves from having to keep repeating such an 'ugly' word, day in and day out,really helped to keep our minds off ​what we were going through.

If you've looked into the subject of bankruptcy at all, you may agree with what we've concluded:

'Uncertainty' is bankruptcy's middle name.

​There is a lack of personal information​out there for one reason -- and that's due to the glaring stigma attached to bankruptcy.

However, filing for bankruptcy​is more common than you'd think -- ​good people just trying to do their best in life,but still find themselves on the road of being​dead broke by the time they're a senior.

We felt there was a chance we could fill the 'void of information'to save people from wasting time, going month after month​feeling powerless like we did.

Our goal is to help those who are searching feel more informed with the knowledge we can provide,with the ultimate vision of arriving at the empowerment needed to make an educated decision.​Acting from a place of strength is critical, ​right from the very start. ​

We made a decision to do whatever we could todisentangle the knotted, looping mass of mystification called bankruptcy.

We began to unearth and organize all of the information and notes we had,​and assemble them in a way that would explainthe entire bankruptcy process from start to finish.

To do this meant no longer allowing ourselves to ​sit around, and watch other people's lives on t.v. We set out to start writing about our own. ​

And the spark that had been ignited from this ideajust kept getting stronger and stronger.

...To get out of bed, day after day ​in the early morning hours,​ when the house was dark and cold.

Not only was this process instrumental in further sorting out our own mess,​it helped us tap into our creative side -- a key that kept any stress that was lingering from getting out of hand.

Knowing that the firsthand information we could sharecould possibly help someone through their own hell hole of debtis what helped us to keep going -- ​

Immersing ourselves in ​The BBQ Files was pivotal for usin pushing through to the other side...It created a sense of closure for us.

Having no way of really knowing what this project would entail, it soon became clear that the decision to write our personal bankruptcy story would be an involved and emotional soul journey.

Although the process to produce​13 bankruptcy guides and an accompanying website​was one of the most intense things we've ever done, it is the challenge in it that allowed us to keep our minds off of the less than enviable situation we were in:​Being officially 'on-paper' broke at The big 4 - 0... a time in our lives known as the "old age of youth".​ ​(Yes we know, what a happy thought that is.)

​Before we knew it, we were knee-deep in the act of rehashing every tiny detail of our whole​“we-are-so-fucking-more-than-broke-right-now-it’s-not-even-fucking-funny” reality. ​​

But the result? It's that we got through it --​We managed to finally get all of our thoughts down on paper and ​finish writing. ​

If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you.

We know now that bankruptcy was​the very thing that neededto happen ​to empower us...to be able to move on with the rest of our liveswith debt no longer weighing us down.

We had to dig deeper than ever before... to push ourselves and make the choice to stay positive during this soul-destroying crisis.

For us, there’s a lot of truth in the concept of the world becoming a better place, 'one person at a time'.

We believe that “making a difference” and contributing to other’s lives in a positive way becomes something achievable when we live our lives ​in certain ways --

... Ways that encourage us to place more importance on the thoughts we allow ourselves to think... Focusing a little more on the strong points we can find about ourselves... and about others.​And making sure to spend some time using those strengths to try to help others.

We hope our story is one you might be able to relate toin your own life.​Our written guides are meant to be just that... a place you can go, to escape intosomeone else's story for a while...to assure you that you really aren't the only one.

Our hope is that each part of our story​can symbolize the building blocks you needto stitch together the answers that make sense to only you(and your situation only).

We're here to hold up the flashing neon sign that says, "We're Here!!"

Before going any further, we're here to let you know we're giving you access to our personal story in the name of giving you an example of what bankruptcy could look like for you.

Below (if you're still up for it!) is a bit about our background...

Or you can check out a free guide we wrote here which might just give you a little direction.

Little Known Famous Nieces

Now don't worry, we're only landing on this subject ​long enough to say it wasn't always so bad for us.

All in all, our growing up years weren't too shabby, being able to claim the typical happy, ​“not a care in the world” existence.

We have to say here though that this was due in part to a little extra attention we received early in life as“those cute sisters”, which was also enhanced a bit by our Dad’s brother being a ​Sports Pro in a U.S. major league.

Just to be clear, our uncle's fortune was not ​part of our picture.But that didn't matter to us as kids.We felt pretty damn important a lot of the time.

​Having a celebrity in the family made us stand out​in a way we welcomed. We were actually star-struck every time we saw him!(which wasn't that often).

Our uncle symbolized for us that, not only 'the good life', but a great life existed...And his position in life made us always feel it was within our reach.​He became our inspiration.

However like a cup of tea​left to steep too long, life eventually became a little too, shall we say,​hard to swallow.

Hmmm...​wonder why that would be...

Well, for starters, the puffed-up attitudes we had developed early on in life were starting to take over.

Fast-forward 10 years, and we were a couple of one-dimensional 20 year-olds walking around with an entitlement attitude, feeling like we deserved success just because we wanted it, ​not because we had done anything to actually earn it.

Although our mama had taught us better than that, you wouldn’t have known it.

The plain and simple truth is,we were shallow, never making it a priority to “clue in” ​back then to how damaging it was to be behaving in a way that was ​​less than reputable.

Little did we knowthat ​living with this attitudewas like making regular little "deposits" into the victim-mentality 'account' of life,​making it an easy habit to blame others as we got older and perceive everything as overly dramatic and 'life-ending-catastrophic' ​if things didn't turn out as planned.

Foreshadowing

Looking back it's clear we were products of watching “Champagne Wishes & Caviar Dreams” on TV through skewed childhood lenses, resulting in a very unrealistic view of the way we thought things were supposed to be in life.

It's these attitudes we had adopted early on that likely had a lot to do with the financial struggles we faced later in life.

Growing up believing we didn't really have to do anything to achieve successhad a way of negatively impacting almost every area of our later lives from that point on,​including both of our pasts involving major depression.

Switching Gears

Getting through that part of life, was of course ahuge relief, but the end of that chapterwas the beginning of ​another one -- ​Jayne got pregnant.

The process she went through to decide to have her baby as a single parent was the point of recognizing the responsibility we both had to 'do whatever it took' to try to get on the path of making life work.

The birth of Jayne's daughter 'Stephanie' was a gift, and ​inspired Jayne's interest in child development and education.After Stephanie's third birthday, Jayne landed a job at a preschool.

The school position eventually led tomoving to Vancouver to study ayear-long teacher training course​Jayne had heard aboutduring Stephanie's first year of life. (For once in her life Jayne 'lucked out' and received an education grant, thankfully available due to already having been employed in the field for a year as an assistant.)

It was around that same time we both started working on an idea for a children's educational activity that Jayne had come up with duringStephanie's preschool years. ​

She created her first one out of cardboard and had fun trying it out ​with Stephanie.

We both really believed there was a chance this idea could impact the lives of other new parents in a positive way, and at that time we decided to try building abusiness around it.

We were excited about the prospect of the idea perhaps leading to the financial stability we were so ​desperate for.

Thanks to a tremendous amount of support from our parents ​and after a lot of (borrowed) money and hard work,​we managed to find a local manufacturer and have 1000 boards made.​We had a brand new 'real life' product! ​We were proud of what we accomplished.​Our hopes were high!

Well, surprise surprise.​

The project didn't, shall we say, 'fly'.​​Upon realizing it was going to take A LOT more (borrowed) money and marketing know-howto increase the chance of the idea succeeding, we abandoned any further work on it,​and eventually wound up feeling like complete failures.

We felt like we had been living one long string of ​defeats after another.

At that point it was very easy to allow cynicism to start overpowering our thoughts.We reached a point where we felt that everything we had done had been a huge waste of time.

Having bank accounts that remained empty​didn’t help matters.

Considering the state of our account balances alone,​it was like we hadn't even put in any effort whatsoever​to get ahead.​We were so frustrated!

As more time went on we fell into a trap of believing we were destined to be plagued with the ​'Disease of Dissatisfaction' our whole lives.

In the years that followed, we bumped along, trying to keep afloat,​all the while racking up our ever-growing debt.

Then the unthinkable happened.

We received the devastating news.It was a cold winter night, 2003. Oh my God. A car accident.

Ten days before Christmas, our Dad called to tell us that our Uncle's life had been tragically taken that bitter winter morning.

He was gone now.Forever. ​

We were broken.

Losing our Uncle cut so deep. ​We were in disbelief.

It was then we lost all faith.

Our uncle had been our hero, our inspiration.

He had been the one who'd kept the spark ​going within us.

​It was as if all that he had accomplished,and the manner in which he conducted his life​had been a symbol to us to always be a fighter... to never give up.

Having always been concerned about the well-being of others, and after reaching success in his life,​we knew our uncle had ways in which he gave back to ​the community.

Years prior to his death, he had initiated charities that were making a difference in the lives of children and families that are carried on in his name to this day.

These are our Dad's words about him in a message to their sister following the tragedy...The scholarship program is one of K's most outstanding achievements. K was a philanthropist in his community and in the NHL.​His vision of helping the unfortunate and his leadership as a benefactor have become his legacy.

For all of these reasons, and more, our Uncle will always be remembered and admired.

Within the year of his passing,​the idea came to us to dedicate the children's educational product to our Uncle as our way of carrying on his legacy.

This dedication marked our​first step in moving on in a new,positive direction.

We began building upon that gesture, keeping our focus on the inspiration we'd always gained from him, knowing it was important to devote our energy toward turning our grief into hope.

It was then we began reading stories about other people who had faced loss -- ​many stories involving other types of adversity,​including financial struggle.

We learned the details behind the well-knownpeople of the world that everyone always thinks ofas 'lucky' ​or 'overnight successes'.

​A deeper look into these stories revealed the number of years, usually decades, it had really taken these people to accomplish their goals, to get to where the world held them in in such high regard.

Throughout these stories we noticed a common thread.

"Bedroom in Arles" ​~ A visual representation of the simple living conditions in which van Gogh lived.

​We learned that one way to look at the meaning of 'luck' is to say that it's​'Preparedness meeting Opportunity'.

It was then it became clear that people who appeared lucky ​was really a result of one thing: That they never gave up on what was important to them. ​

Every one of these peoplehad found at least one thing​they consideredtheir true purpose in life.

Regardless of how others perceived them, ​that one special thing is the foundation they ​built their lives upon.

Sadly, in some cases, some didn't live long enough to witness the greatness they had left ​on the world.

Real Life

Like all people, there are times in life that must involve challenge, sorrow and adversity.​To have had access to the 'lifeline' of other people's stories about their defeat and triumph,we learned a lot, and gained much needed solace and inspiration.

Simply being aware​of other people's stories --real life examples we could relate to -- gave us the emotional support​we could really make us of.

Now we had a collection of memoirs for reference...​reminders that we really weren't the only ones going through all of the doubt, insecurity and fear. ​

At this time, we'd like to express thanks to our Mom​for the wisdom she has imparted over the years.Something we are grateful for to this day.

During our years of soul-searching, Mom introduced us to a life lesson that she had adopted prior toher marriage ending with Dad.

It's something that's remained with us and has helped us stay true to our passions in life: ​

"Our lives will unfold in more positive ways if we remember one thing:​We all have a choice in what we allow ourselves to think about."

Trying our hardest to make this way of thinking our​new focus took the "un-learning" of a lot of​old thought patterns, and re-programming new ones --helping us view challenges in our lives with​a renewed perspective.

This helped us make the conscious decision to access, within ourselves,that spark our Uncle had...

to find ways to keep our ambition alive, ​​toward living out our lives in fulfilling ways.

Every person has that spark –whether it’s something, someone, or even a story,or a principle or philosophy​a person lives bythat helps ​give them strength ​when times are dark.

But our story is also a tale of facing and conquering our innermost fears –to turn a bad situation around, and eventually view the setbacks in our lives​as the building blocks we needed to create the life we most desire.

The 'work' is in choosing to use that spark, to keep going no matter what..."to shield ourselves from the sudden misfortune"...and "always to try, just one more time".Desiderata / Thomas Edison

Cheers

Welcome to our online diary.

We know and understand how overwhelming an unstable financial situation can feel.And we now hold the belief that it's through helping others that can give meaning to our hardships --​where, somehow, sense can be made of adversity.

​If we can help answer some questions or alleviate the fear even one person may be feeling, then the time we took to write our guides will have been worth it.

We have been transformed -- ​A major event in our lives has ignited our mission​to help others find the same freedom we have.

​Making the major financial decision we did allowed us to move into the next stage of our lives with the desire to keep learning and evolving.

Oh! And One More Note . . .

Due to the personal nature and stigma we all know is attached to personal financial problems, we hope we have your understanding about keeping our names private for now.

It's important to us for you to feel confident that the information we're providing is real and reliable. For this reason, using names other than our own is something we've had difficulty with.

But what we realized is that getting this information out to those who need it is what's most important.

Our hope is that our ​heart-centered approach is what will shine through! allowing you to feel comfortable to get in touch and ask the questions you need answered so you can move on.

​Having your understanding about this aspect means the world to us,and we sincerely thank you for that.​ It is your support that will allow us to continue providing this resource to those who need itwith peace of mind .

Our goal has always been to build a resource that would be a turning point in people's lives.

With each day, month, and year​that passes,we find that our passion and commitment to help others ​only continues to grow.​​We're on a mission to help ensure you're making as informed a decision as possible about your debt, providing guidance that's based on ourpersonal experience.

"The next time someone upsets you, think,"Thanks for pointing that out; maybe I've begun depending on you too much and it's time I lose the expectations." Next time someone doesn't take your view into account, think,"That's okay, I was once like that." And if someone steals from you, think,"It was nothing, my supply is the Universe." Or if someone lies to you, think, "I'm sorry you feel that need." Or violates you, "All for my growth and glory." Or is rude to you, "Cheer up, dear soul, it'll be okay." Or judges you, "Thanks for sharing your truth." Or drives by you like a bat out of hell, "Be careful, buddy." And the next time someone greets you with a smile, smile back, like you're sharing a secret."

Note: For the purpose of privacy, the images of Lainey & Jayne within this site are stock photos.Due to the personal nature of financial matters. we appreciate your understanding for our need to protect our family name and privacy. If of interest to you however, we invite you to get in touch ​should you wish to become acquainted further before taking your next step.